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We are looking at how to help the state improve the availability, speed and affordability of digital communications infrastructure, says CEO

By HABHAJAN SINGH

A Selangor entity is pushing hard to assist the state to navigate the wave of smart city transformation, as well as dealing with the Internet of Things and big data.

Smartsel Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mentri Besar Selangor Inc (MBI Selangor), is also looking at how to ensure data security and privacy for the people, government and business.

We are looking at how to help the state improve the availability, speed and affordability of digital communications infrastructure in Selangor by working smart with industry stakeholders. We call it cooptition,” Smartsel CEO Mohd Suhaimi Mohd Tahir told a recent forum.

Organised by MBI Selangor in Subang, the sixth Selangor Synergies Talk Series carried the theme of “Digital Infrastructure”.

Meanwhile on the model adopted for smart cities for Selangor, he said it was centred around the citizens.

“We started by focusing on pain points of the rakyat. When preparing the blueprint, the pain points then were waste disposal and traffic congestion in major cities, as well as connectivity,” he said.

This led the state information technology company to launch initiatives for smart waste management and WiFi for the state.

“The ideas are always centred on the needs of the citizen. We look around for inexpensive technology, launch pilot projects and then scale them up — that essentially is the model,” he said in response to a question from the floor.

Smartsel’s core business is to build and manage the telecommunications infrastructure of Selangor to enable it to be the regional smart state.

It also aims to enable its clients’ growth and transformation through telecommunications infrastructure and solutions.

The company works in close collaboration with strategic partners and technology specialists to provide smart digital solutions to local authorities, government agencies and businesses, according to information at its website.

Mohd Suhaimi said the company leverages on its small budget and limited internal resources.

“The approach has always been to start small, do testing, buy minimal product. That has been part of our operations,” he said.